Pacific Sized Disappointment

Rating: 6/10 (4 January 2014)

Pacific Rim is a visually stunning and utterly forgettable blockbuster. What makes it a disappointment is that it could have been so much better if only time was spent on developing the story and dialog as much as it was on the stunning special effects. I expected it to be so much better given that Guillermo Del Torro co-wrote the script and directed it.
In the near future huge alien creatures known as Kaijus are invading the earth and decimating cities. They arrive through a dimensional rift located at the bottom of the pacific. To combat them, giant robots known as Jagers have been created. These look like a cross between transformers and the robot from the movie when the earth stood still. They are usually operated by two people who are connected through something known as the "neural handshake". The Jaeger program is being dismantled for reasons which are not clearly explained. Apparently it's not effective even though it's the only thing that seems to stop the monsters. Instead, the powers that be have decided to build a wall. When the wall is show to be useless, the few remaining Jaegers are grouped in Hong Kong and to try and destroy the gateway which allows Kajius access to Earth. Obviously they will need to re-train the hero to do so. This would be a pilot of the Jaeger, who lost his brother fighting Kajius at the beginning of the movie. He is partnered with a rookie pilot and him and her (although the underdogs) will probably prevail to save the day. Whilst falling in love of course. And that's pretty much it, there are some sub-plots but ultimately these are just a distraction from the main story or lack of it.
The good points: the monsters and robots are really well done. The effects are fantastic. Especially the fight scenes. Charlie Hunnam & Rinko Kikuchi in the lead roles are fine and their chemistry is good on screen. There is some decent acting by the supporting cast as well, especially by Ron Perlman and Clifton Collins Jr. Idris Elba is good as well but he is not given much to work with and has a bland motivational speech to give and at one point says 'today we cancel the apocalypse' which is appropriate since plausibility and the need for a gripping coherent story are canceled as well.
The other bad points: the whole story reminds me of the Voltron Cartoons. Those who remember the cartoon will recall that in the cartoon a giant robot was fighting huge creatures/monsters in space. This is very similar, just set on earth. For those who don't remember the cartoon just imagine transformers fighting Godzilla on steroids. And then fighting Godzila's extended and ever more menacing family. Who are also on steroids. I could look past this if the story wasn't so formulaic and clichéd. The movie suffers from clichéd characters throughout its whole duration. The heroic commander who has a secret to reveal, the troubled hero with baggage, the co-pilot with baggage, the other young Jaeger pilot who is annoying and doesn't like the hero, and two scientist who are polar opposites but manage to work out within a few hours what no one else had been able to in years. Convenient timing that, otherwise the last ditch attack would be for nothing.
Another few things which are not well explained are: why are there only 4-5 Jaegers remaining in the world and why aren't the governments of the world supporting mass production of them? What is a neural handshake exactly? Why does it take two pilots to operate the Jaeger? And how is it then possible for one individual to do so? Why are the Jaegers fighting almost 1-1 with the Kaiju? Why not have a squad of them decimate the creatures? These are just some of the questions that could be asked. And there are many other implausibilities as well.
Overall I still prefer this to the transformer movies but it's nothing special or original. I would give it a 6/10. Worth watching if you want to switch off the brain for a couple of hours, not if you want a plot that makes much sense or is plausible. Such a pity, because it could have been a great action movie if only it had a story that made more sense.